Chapter 3420: Qingshan's Breakthrough to the Great Ascension Stage

In Golden Yak Valley, the streets were bustling with people and the clamor of carriages, creating a lively atmosphere.

Inside a secret chamber, Long Qingfeng lay on a red stone bed, his eyes closed.

Wang Ruyi stood beside him, her brows furrowed in a frown.

They had brought the Nine Flame Flower back to Golden Yak Valley as quickly as possible, giving it to Lady Shi to remove the curse.

According to Lady Shi, the Ice Soul Spirit Annihilation Curse had been lifted, but Long Qingfeng would need some time to regain consciousness.

Wang Ruyi remained by Long Qingfeng's side, her face clouded with worry. They had slain three Spirit Race cultivators at the Integration stage, acquiring many valuable items in addition to the thirty-thousand-year-old Nine Flame Flower. The most precious among these were two Thousand Spirit Tokens.

Wang Ruyi examined the jade slips and found that a Reflection Orb contained the last words of Reverend Jinyan.

Reverend Jinyan was a late-Integration stage cultivator who had entered the Thousand Spirit Secret Trove in search of treasure. However, he hadn't obtained many cultivation resources. The most valuable item he found was a book called 'Immortal Script Compendium,' which recorded a large number of immortal texts.

After leaving the Thousand Spirit Secret Trove, Reverend Jinyan was pursued by powerful enemies. He fought his way out of the encirclement and fled to Golden Flame Ruins for refuge, but his injuries were too severe, and he died there.

The Spirit Race cultivators must have discovered Reverend Jinyan's meditation cave, unknowingly benefiting Wang Ruyi.

For Wang Ruyi, only the Thousand Spirit Tokens held significant value. The 'Immortal Script Compendium' was of little use to her as she possessed no secret techniques or texts written in immortal script. They could submit the 'Immortal Script Compendium' to their family once they returned to human settlements.

Wang Ruyi felt someone grasp her hand. She turned her head and saw that Long Qingfeng had woken up, his right hand holding hers.

"Husband, you're awake! I'll contact Lady Shi and ask her to come take a look at you."

A look of joy spread across Wang Ruyi's face. She took out a communication disc that pulsed with red light, cast a spell, and politely said, "Lady Shi, my husband has woken up. Could you please come and examine him?"

"Alright, I'll be right there," a gentle female voice replied from the communication disc.

Soon after, the young woman in the purple dress arrived. She carefully examined Long Qingfeng's injuries and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Long, you are out of danger. A period of rest will suffice. Fellow Daoist Long, it's fortunate that Lady Long obtained the Nine Flame Flower from the Golden Flame Ruins, otherwise you would have perished."

Long Qingfeng nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Lady Shi."

"Well then, rest well. I won't disturb you further. Contact me if you need anything," the young woman in the purple dress said before standing up and leaving.

"You've worked hard, Ruyi," Long Qingfeng said, his voice somewhat weak.

"As long as you're alright," Wang Ruyi replied, her smile as radiant as a blooming flower.

Long Qingfeng nodded and said nothing more.

Spring turned to autumn, and three hundred years passed. In the Demon Realm, on Skyhawk Continent.

In a long, narrow valley in the southwestern corner of the Profound Eagle Mountain Range, a burly man in a red shirt and a graceful young woman in a green dress walked slowly. They exuded a strong demonic aura, clearly identifying them as members of the demon race.

"Eh, what's that?!" the young woman in the green dress exclaimed, her face full of curiosity.

The burly man in the red shirt looked up and saw countless colorful specks of light appearing in the void, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"A rare treasure manifesting?"

The young woman in the green dress, filled with curiosity, flew high into the sky. With a sweep of her gaze, she gasped.

The colorful specks of light covered nearly half of the Profound Eagle Mountain Range. They seemed to be guided, converging towards a certain direction.

"Is someone breaking through to the Integration stage here? It doesn't seem like it! The celestial phenomena for breaking through to the Integration stage wouldn't be this massive."

Several streaks of light flew in from the distance, following the specks of light upwards.

A loud thunderous roar echoed from high above, as a colossal golden thundercloud appeared, accompanied by lightning and thunder. Tens of thousands of thick golden lightning bolts rent the sky, striking at these streaks of light. Screams emanated from above, and the streaks of light vanished. "Dare to approach within ten thousand li of this place, and you will be annihilated!"

An incredibly cold male voice resonated from the horizon, shaking the heavens and earth.

The dense specks of light gathered above a colossal valley surrounded on three sides by mountains. These specks condensed into a gigantic five-colored cloud, ten thousand zhang wide.

A silvery flying sword materialized out of thin air, hovering high above.

Wang Lei stood atop a peak, looking at the five-colored cloud high above, his expression grave.

After the five-colored cloud violently churned, large, five-colored raindrops poured down. They were completely absorbed by the silvery flying sword, which grew increasingly dazzling.

The silvery flying sword trembled slightly, emitting a piercing sword hum. Its silver light intensified, and the five-colored cloud moved towards it, slowly merging into the sword until it disappeared.

Wang Lei's expression darkened. He transformed into a golden rainbow and shot through the air. Two streaks of light approached rapidly from the distance.

Before long, Wang Lei stopped, and the two streaks of light also halted, revealing two men with similar features, both at the Integration stage.

"I am Feng Yunfei of the Xuan Yan clan. How may I address you, fellow Daoist?" a tall, slender old man in a green robe politely asked.

"My name is unimportant. Do not approach this area, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings," Wang Lei said, his tone heavy.

A short, stout old man in a golden robe shifted his gaze. A pair of green bird wings sprouted from his back, and with a gentle flap, he vanished from his spot.

Wang Lei's face fell, but he said nothing.

A thousand li away, a green light flared in the void, revealing the golden-robed elder's figure. His body uncontrollably plummeted towards the ground, and the surge of green light around him was useless.

A thick golden lightning bolt descended from the sky, striking a towering peak and leveling it.

"Dare to trespass again, and don't blame me for being impolite," Wang Lei said, his tone icy.

Normally, he would have killed them immediately, but Wang Qingshan was attempting to break through to the Mahayana stage, and he didn't know how many cultivators that might attract. He didn't want to cause further trouble, lest someone exploit the situation.

"Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! Fellow Daoist, quickly withdraw your spell, and I'll leave at once," the golden-robed elder said with an awkward smile, pleading.

"Stay here for now! If you leave, I will kill you without hesitation," Wang Lei said coldly.

The golden-robed elder and the green-robed elder considered for a moment. Neither made a move, and they honestly waited there.

Their opponent was skilled in lightning spells, and had an accomplice; if they truly intended to kill them, they wouldn't be able to escape.

In a gigantic valley shrouded in thick white mist, the five-colored cloud had already vanished.

Inside a cave, Wang Qingshan sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes closed. He was undergoing his Heart Demon Tribulation.

***

Green Lotus Mountain, Lecture Hall.

An elder was giving a lecture to a group of young Wang family disciples. They were all young, and one clear-eyed boy in a green shirt stared intently at the elder.

"This is when I was young!" the boy in the green shirt muttered to himself.

"Qingshan, what are you muttering about?" the elder asked.

"Nothing, Grandfather. I was just wondering what kind of cultivator is the strongest," Wang Qingshan replied.

"Sword cultivators, of course! However, there's always someone stronger, and sword cultivators aren't the absolute strongest; they'll still have opponents. But it's generally accepted that sword cultivators are more formidable than most cultivators of the same rank. This is beside the point. Let's continue with the lecture, and I'll tell you more about sword cultivators another day," the elder said slowly.

Wang Qingshan nodded and listened attentively.